Volume 3, 2012

For healthcare professionals only

PP 16530/05/2013(032400)www.pharmaniaga.comThis community service was made through a grant from Pharmaniaga BerhadVo

lum

e 3

a complement to modern medicine;a compliment to modern women

aa complement to modern medicine;aa complement to modern medicine;Kacip FatimahKacip Fatimah

EditorialTeam

All rights reserved, ©2012 by Pharmaniaga Berhad. No portion of this publication covered by the

copyright herein may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher.

Opinions expressed in CURE by contributors are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

CCD-2012-033-CURE. VOL3

Do you have any article you would like to share with us? Even your feedback about this newsletter is greatly appreciated. Simply send your articles, letter or feedback toCorporate Communications Department, No. 7, Lorong Keluli 1B, Kaw. Perindustrian Bukit Raja Selatan, Seksyen 7, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor or email to [email protected]

AdvisorDato’ Farshila Binti Emran

Editorial CommitteeZuhri Iskandar Kamarzaman

Yusoff Abdul RahmanMohd Naszrien Mohd Nasir

Roslyn Ho

Contributing WritersAida Darlina

Grace Kang-OngWan Mohd Fahimi Wan HamadSyed Hairol Anuar bin Said Edin

Mohd Makmor-Bakry

DesignerFara Omar

CoverPhoto by Rais Badarilah

Make-up by Selasiah WahabTragic Malaya Studio

019-2710878

Publisher

Pharmaniaga BerhadNo. 7, Lorong Keluli 1B

Kaw. Perindustrian Bukit Raja SelatanSeksyen 7, 40000 Shah Alam

SelangorTel : +603 3342 9999

www.pharmaniaga.com

PrinterASP Offset Sdn Bhd.

No, 1, Jalan 9/152, Taman Perindustrian OUG,

Bt 6 ½, Jalan Puchong, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel : 603 – 7781 1112Fax : 603 – 7781 3778

E-mail : [email protected]

Dear readers,

Malaysia is increasing its acceptance and use of Traditional & Complementary Medicine (TCM), hence the theme of this newsletter, in which we bring you Pharmaniaga’s niche area of focus in TCM – the Kacip Fatimah. Our priority areas of research include cultivation of Kacip Fatimah and basic clinical study of utilisation of the herb in selected therapeutic conditions. You may read about it on page 4-6.

Isu kali ini juga memaparkan kebaikan ulam-ulaman selari dengan tema TCM. Kadang-kadang sesuatu yang kita pandang ringan itulah yang baik buat kita. Kita beruntung kerana Malaysia negara yang kaya dengan ulam-ulaman pelbagai jenis dan rasa. Dan boleh dikatakan kesemuanya adalah jenis yang boleh ditanam dibelakang rumah atau pasu bunga. Mungkin selepas membaca artikel mengenai ulam-ulaman pada mukasurat 17-18 boleh mengubah selera kita untuk terus mengamalkan pemakanan yang sihat dan jimat!

In every issue of CURE, we shall try to feature at least one article on one type of Vitamin, written by a qualified nutritionist. We have discussed Vitamin C in the last issue. This time, we hope to give you some understanding of Vitamin A, and how important it is in the development of a child.

Soon, the world will be fasting in view of the holy month of Ramadhan. Although it is a practice by the Muslims, I know some non-Muslim friends who also took the opportunity to fast to improve their health and diet. This is a reflection of not only the scientific reasons behind a certain religious practice, but also of how Malaysians embrace each other in a harmonious and healthy way. On behalf of Pharmaniaga, I wish every Malaysian peace, love, prosperity and good health!

Zuhri Iskandar Kamarzaman

Editor’s Note

Highlights

Kacip Fatimah - a complement to

modern medicine; a compliment to modern women.

Medical Usage in

Special Risk Groups

Pg 4-6

Pg 22-23

Pg 18-19Sulam diet anda dengan ulam

Maintaining Good EyesightPg 14-16

4 CURE ■ Volume 3, 2012

Feature

Kacip Kacip FatimahFatimah

Kacip Fatimah

a complement to modern medicine;

a compliment to modern women.

Kacip Fatimah (scientific name Labisia pumila) is one of the

popular herbaceous plants that has been traditionally used by

Malay women for general health. This plant belongs to a family

of Myrsinaceae. It is also locally known as Selusoh Fatimah,

Rumput Siti Fatimah, Akar Fatimah, Kunchi Fatimah, among

many other names.

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Volume 3, 2012 ■ CURE 5

Kacip Fatimah literaly means Fatimah’s betel nut scissor. Kacip is a betel nut scissor, while Fatimah is said to be dedicated to Siti Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad because of the special medical properties to

be in the plant.

The plant has long been used by the Malays and aboriginal tribes as traditional medicine for women. It is mainly used by women after childbirth to firm and tone the muscles, as a health tonic to increase energy, improve blood circulation, regulate menstrual cycle and for anti-aging purposes. This herb is used whole or in part such as leaves, stems or roots. The plants are usually boiled and the water extract taken as a drink.

Kacip Fatimah plants grow wild in Malaysian rain forest about 80-100 meters above sea level. It thrives naturally in low land to hill forest on soil rich with organic matter and heavily shaded area. Kacip Fatimah plants are sensitive to open sunlight that will harm its growth.

There are three commonly encountered varieties of Kacip Fatimah in Malaysia, namely Labisia pumila var alata, Labisia pumila var pumila and Labisia pumila var lanceolata. Pharmaniaga Kacip Fatimah plants are derived from the variety of Labisia pumila var alata.

There is an increasing demand for Kacip Fatimah plants due to its popular medicinal properties. Kacip Fatimah plants are normally collected from the wild jungle. Massive harvesting of wild Kacip Fatimah plants from forests has resulted a decline in its quantity. In order to preserve the wild forests and ensure a sustainable source of Kacip Fatimah plants for future use, Pharmaniaga has started the propagation and cultivation of Kacip Fatimah plants to meet market demands.

Kacip Fatimah PlantsKacip Fatimah PlantsKacip Fatimah Plants

Propagation of Kacip Fatimah Plants via Leaf Cutting

Hardening Process of Kacip Fatimah Plants


Feature

Kacip Fatimah plants are naturally propagated by seed. However, Pharmaniaga has successfully propagated Kacip Fatimah plants via leaf cuttings and cultivated the plants in an old oil palm plantation. The cultivation site for Pharmaniaga Kacip Fatimah plants is located in Tasek Gelugur, Penang and it is in accordance to the principles of Good Agriculture Practice (GAP).

At present, there is a variety of Kacip Fatimah products available in the market such as food (e.g. Coffee with Kacip Fatimah) and traditional product (e.g. Kacip Fatimah capsule or tablet). The Kacip Fatimah products currently in the market are not allowed to have medicinal claims by Regulatory Authorities due to lack of scientifically proven data.

In view of the great market demands for natural products with medicinal claims, Pharmaniaga intends to enhance the product development of Kacip Fatimah from traditional towards phytomedicine through scientific research (a tradition redefined through science) for women’s health (post-menopausal and female vitality). The Kacip Fatimah product will undergo stringent preclinical studies and clinical trials to establish its quality, safety and efficacy.

The venturing of Pharmaniaga in the field of phytomedicine is in-line with our government’s direction on developing high end herbal products with claims and high value botanical drugs under the National Key Economic Area Entry Point Project for Herbal. The Kacip Fatimah project opens the way for Pharmaniaga to be at the forefront of phytomedicine.

Cultivation of Kacip Fatimah plants under oil palm trees

Kacip Fatimah is mainly usedby women after childbirth to

firm and tone the muscles, as a health tonic to increase energy,

improve blood circulation, regulate menstrual cycle and for

anti-aging purposes. ❞

❝


Feature

“Good morning,

Call Centre, I’m

Aida, how may I

help you…?”

This is the

daily greeting

of our Call

Centre agent in

Pharmaniaga when

we pick up the

customer careline

and we will say

this with a smile

on our faces.

Hello!May I Assist

You?

RING!

RING!

RING!

RING!

Wor

ds b

y A

ida

Dar

lina


Hi! My name is Aida Darlina Amir Hamzah. I am an Assistant Manager of Pharmaniaga Customer

Care Department and have been proudly serving the company for 4 years. Allow me to tell you a little bit about our call centre.

What is a call centre? Does it just receive and transfer the incoming calls? Let me first take you into a situation. Have you ever called up a company to enquire something but only to be transferred to several different personnel or departments before you can actually speak to the right person? Worst still, sometimes the line was even cut-off. Imagine how frustrated you could be!

The Pharmaniaga Call Centre was officially established on 10 June 2011 with only 6 agents. Now we have grown to 16 agents including 2 agents each in all branches. Do you know that we work on Sundays? And yes, on Selangor’s Public Holidays too! We work on these days to cater for customers working in other states. We need to be there when customers inquire about their orders or purchase orders. We also need to be there when customers urgently need the stocks.

At Pharmaniaga Call Centre, each agent is responsible to receive and attend to incoming calls and solve the inquiries or issues within the first call. However, the agents are required to raise a ticket for the calls or inquiries or issues that need to be further investigated or escalated to a certain personnel or departments in Pharmaniaga. Hence, the agents would ‘transfer’ the tickets (not calls) to others. Nevertheless, it has to be responded in a specified timeline.

In the call centre, each and every call is tracked via a system called AMEYO. As agents, they cannot afford to let the calls go unanswered or dropped. They have to pick it up within 3 ringings. Otherwise, it will be reflected negatively in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) as

well as the productivity report. A toilet break should also not be longer than 5 minutes. Luckily the restroom is just a stone’s throw away from the cubicles!

If there is any news that Pharmaniaga needs to urgently spread out to customers, the agents will be the first one to inform them. There will be a script for each agent to follow, in order to ensure that information given to all our valued customers is accurate and standardised.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Sir / Madam?” This is the standard phrase in ending the conversation with our customers. We must ensure that they are satisfied and rest assured when making calls or inquiries to us.

Besides handling incoming and outgoing calls, we also take care of complaints from customers, organising Ministry of Health Dialogue session with Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri in all states as well as conducting the Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

Thank you for reading this article and have a nice day, Sir / Madam.

Each agent isresponsible to receive and attend to incoming calls and solve the inquiries /

issues within thefirst call

❞

❝

Frontliners of Pharmaniaga Customer Care Centre.


Info Sihat

Kecantikan diri merupakan satu aspek yang

sangat diutamakan oleh setiap individu

sama ada perempuan mahupun lelaki.

Malah, ianya menjadi satu inspirasi yang

mendorong masyarakat kini untuk mencuba

apa sahaja demi untuk terus kelihatan

cantik dan anggun. Tidak cukup dengan

hanya rawatan dan ubat-ubatan moden,

kaedah-kaedah tradisional juga menjadi

pilihan amalan masyarakat kini bagi

mengekalkan kecantikan yang dimiliki.

Rawatan Bekam

digalakkan Rasulullah SAW

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Segmen info sihat kali ini akan berkongsi satu kaedah rawatan kesihatan yang dipercayai mampu menstabilkan kesihatan serta

membawa kesan positif kepada aspek kecantikan diri. Ianya dikenali sebagai “Bekam”.

Menurut istilah Melayu, perkataan bekam bermaksud mengeluarkan angin dalam badan atau pelepasan darah kotor daripada badan. Ia juga dikenali sebagai al-Hijamah di dalam bahasa Arab yang bermaksud, kaedah pembersihan darah atau angin dengan mengeluarkan sisa toksik di dalam badan melalui kulit secara sedutan. Bekam juga merupakan satu rawatan yang disyorkan oleh Rasulullah SAW. Secara amnya, terdapat dua jenis bekam iaitu bekam kering dan bekam basah.

Bekam Kering juga dikenali sebagai bekam angin dan ia dilakukan tanpa mengeluarkan darah. Kulit yang dibekam akan kelihatan merah kehitaman dan kesan tersebut akan hilang dalam masa kira-kira tiga hari. Secara tradisionalnya, bekam ini sesuai untuk mereka yang tidak tahan melihat darah.

Bekam basah pula adalah teknik berbekam yang melibatkan penyingkiran darah toksik daripada badan pengamalnya. Ianya dilakukan dengan melukai permukaan kulit dengan menggunakan jarum yang tajam sebelum proses bekam. Proses sedutan selama tiga hingga lima minit itu akan dilakukan secara berulang-ulang.

Pada zaman Rasulullah SAW, bekam dilakukan dengan menggunakan cawan ataupun mangkuk kaca. Masyarakat Cina kuno pula menggunakan tanduk haiwan sebagai alat berbekam. Kaedah yang sedikit berbeza telah digunakan oleh masyarakat Eropah dari kurun ke-18 di mana lintah digunakan sebagai agen menyedut darah kotor tersebut. Kaedah ini masih lagi diguna pakai oleh sesetengah masyarakat di Barat. Walaubagaimanapun, penerapan unsur-unsur perubatan moden seperti penggunaan cawan bekam yang lebih selamat, pisau pembedahan, bahan antiseptik dan sarung tangan getah telah mula dipraktikkan oleh pengamal-pengamal perubatan tersebut.

Kaedah perubatan secara bekam dikatakan mampu memberikan kesan yang serta merta. Kebiasaannya, pengamal perubatan ini akan merasakan badan mereka lebih ringan dan selesa setiap kali selepas berbekam. Selain dari itu, bekam juga mampu membantu menghilangkan sakit kepala dan “migrain” disamping membuang angin di dalam badan. Kaedah ini juga dikatakan mampu membantu memecahkan lemak, memulihkan ketegangan urat serta meredakan serangan angin ahmar.

Melalui kaedah bekam, darah kotor yang terkumpul di bawah permukaan kulit akan dikeluarkan dan ini akan membantu melancarkan perjalanan darah bagi memulihara kesegaran tubuh pengamalnya. Selain daripada kelebihan-kelebihan yang tersebut di atas, kaedah perubatan tradisional ini juga dikatakan mampu menyembuhkan 72 jenis penyakit yang lain seperti darah tinggi, jantung, kolestrol, sakit mata, angin ahmar, sakit gigi, sembelit masalah buah pinggang dan lain-lain.

Bagi mereka yang berminat untuk menjalani rawatan bekam, waktu yang paling sesuai adalah di pertengahan bulan.

Ini kerana pada waktu ini, darah toksik akan terhimpun dengan kadar yang paling banyak berbanding waktu-waktu lain. Namun, bagi yang ingin berbekam dengan tujuan untuk mengubati penyakit, ianya boleh dilakukan pada bila-bila masa sahaja. Selain itu, pesakit yang telah menjalani rawatan bekam juga dinasihatkan agar tidak mengambil makanan yang berat sebelum dibekam. Sebaik-baiknya, pesakit digalakkan untuk berpuasa.

Bekam merupakan satu kaedah yang digalakkan kerana ianya mampu

memulihkan kesihatan tubuh badan seseorang. Namun, apa yang perlu dititikberatkan ialah tahap kawalan kebersihan yang dikawal oleh seseorang pengamal amalan tradisional ini. Sebagai contoh, pengamalnya haruslah memastikan alat-alat yang digunakan bersih dan bebas dari kuman bagi mengelakkan masalah kesihatan yang lain.

Kaedah perubatan ini boleh dilakukan seawal umur tujuh tahun dan seelok-eloknya diamalkan sebanyak dua kali dalam sebulan. Selain membantu dalam aspek kesihatan, bekam juga mampu mengekalkan kesegaran dan kesihatan kulit.


paling sesuai adalah di pertengahan bulan. kulit.

Pada zaman Rasulullah SAW, bekam dilakukandengan menggunakan cawan ataupun mangkuk kaca.

Masyarakat Cina kuno pula menggunakan tanduk haiwan sebagai alat berbekam.

❞❝


Enriching Life

TWO PROTON CARS, 20 Honda motorbikes,

travelling packages including Haj, Umrah,

London and Beijing, Coach Handbags,

Aigner watches, domestic travel vouchers

and iPads were among the prizes offered for

lucky draws during the Pharmaniaga Dinner

2012.

Themed “Black & Red Glam”, the event was held at the

Royale Chulan Hotel Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 24 March

2012 and was officiated by our Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Lodin

Wok Kamaruddin.

For the first time in Pharmaniaga history, the event managed to gather all of Pharmaniaga

Group’s subsidiaries including all the braches in Klang Valley, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.

There were more than 1500 staff and partners glamorously dressed up for the night.

Other than the lucky draw prizes, everyone was entertained by the thrilling staff

performances too. One of the bands had the crowd jumping and dancing to their music

right in front of the stage.

The management team also gave an astounding group performance. It was a delight to

learn that our Managing Director Dato’ Farshila Emran has a talent in singing when she

went on stage performing a duet with her husband.

e

Dinner2012

Registration and door gift collectionStanding Red, Posing Black!

24 March 2012 • Saturday

The Royale Chulan Hotel

Dinner2012

Worthy performance..TQ Pharmaniaga!!

MD Dato’ Farshila Emran with Tan Sri Dato’

Lodin Wok Kamaruddin entering the hall

I won a car!!

The crew behind the scene

Performance by Pharmaniaga Life Science team; medley of local hit songs.

The grand prize given away by Tan Sri Dato’ Lodin Wok Kamaruddin


Way To Wellness

Maintaining Good Eyesight

Learn what really works to maintain good

eyesight, writes nutritionist Grace

Kang-Ong.

Eating carrots improves eyesight – according to many old wives’ tales. We would have hoped this would be true, but sadly, the claim

has been stretched a bit too far.

If you have poor eyesight, colour blindness or any other eye condition, eating carrots will not cure them. Instead, a visit to an optometrist or ophthalmologist is the better bet.

However, don’t stop eating carrots just yet! You may be relieved to know that the nutrients in carrots do promote eye health. How? Carrots are rich in vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant that plays many essential roles in the body, including maintaining good eyesight.

Vitamin A: What is it?Vitamin A has to be obtained from food sources as the body cannot make it naturally. The first vitamin to be discovered, vitamin A is a fat-soluble growth factor that helps promote vision, bone health, cell growth and division, and reproduction, among many other functions.

This vitamin is also needed for the production and activity of white blood cells to boost the immune system to ward off diseases and infections. It maintains the health of endothelial cells (the interior lining of cells in the eyes and the respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts). Endothelial linings are important barriers to keep bacteria and viruses at bay. Vitamin A also keeps the skin and mucous membranes intact as our first line of defence against infection.

Vitamin A & good eye healthAmong the many functions of vitamin A, the most

Did you know?Carotenoids, a group of

vitamin A found in plants, are believed to have derived their names from ‘carrot’ as they form most of the pigments

found in the plant. Due to their wide spectrum of colours –

from light yellow to dark red – carotenoids are widely used as

food colouring.


widely researched is its role in maintaining eye health. Our body uses vitamin A in the form of retinol. In the body, retinol is transported to eye tissues, particularly the retina, to form rhodopsin, an important visual pigment. This pigment enhances the sensitivity of rod and cone vision to allow you to see in dim light. A lack of rhodopsin results in night blindness, one of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency.

Vitamin A deficiency is rare in Malaysia, but it is still a problem among the poor in less developed countries. Severe and long-term vitamin A deficiency leads to xerophthalmia, a group of eye problems caused by dry and damaged cornea. The retina is also

damaged, and in the long-run, this deficiency can cause irreversible blindness.

Many sources of vitamin AVitamin A can be obtained from diet in two forms: pre-formed vitamin A (retinol) and provitamins A (such as beta-carotene, carotenoids, etc). Retinol is derived from the fats and oils of animal origin, particularly milk, eggs, butter, liver,

Vitamin A at a glance

The daily recommended

nutrient intake (RNI) for

Malaysians is 600 μg retinol

(equivalent to 2,000 IU

retinol). Vitamin A is needed

to:

☺ Encourage good eye

health.

☺ Regulate cell growth,

division and differentiation.

☺ Promote reproductive

performance.

☺ Regulate the immune

system.

☺ Maintain the healthy linings

of cells.

☺ Boost bone remodelling

and growth.

☺ Support good skin and

mucous membrane health.


Way To Wellness

fish liver, etc. Fat-free and non-fat milk are usually fortified with vitamin A to replace lost retinol when the fat is removed. On the other hand, provitamins A are found in plants, especially dark-coloured fruits and leafy vegetables.

Our body can only use vitamin A in its retinol form. Provitamins A are converted into retinol by the body before they can be used for the various biochemical functions.

The fi nal note on vitamin AAs vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin (as are vitamins D, E and K) it is stored in our body, mostly in the liver. Consuming too much retinol, especially from nutritional supplements, can be toxic, resulting in central nervous system problems, liver damage, bone abnormalities, joint pain, male pattern baldness, headache, vomiting and skin problems. There is evidence showing that too much retinol also increases the risk of hip fractures and birth defects, and interferes with the beneficial actions of vitamin D, which is important for bone health.

On the other hand, beta-carotene is non-toxic, even at high doses. If you have been advised to get a vitamin A supplement, choose one in the form of beta-carotene.

As for that old wives’ tales, you may want to blame it on the British during World War II. In order to prevent the Germans from knowing that they were using radar equipment, British intelligence claimed that their pilots had remarkable night vision – thanks to carrots. Another old wives’ tale busted!

Grace Kang-Ong is a nutritionist and life

member of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia.

She is the former editor of HealthToday, the

leading health magazine in Malaysia. She

loves to communicate about good health as

she believes that armed with the knowledge,

people will adopt the right attitude and make

the necessary changes for a healthier lifestyle.

References: 1. Harvard School of Public Health. Available at www.hsph.harvard.edu. 2. Ministry of Health. Available at www.moh.gov.my. 3. Nutrition Society of Malaysia. Available at www.nutriweb.org.my. 4. The Nemours Foundation. Available at www.kidshealth.org. 5. US Office of Dietary Supplements. Available at www.ods.od.nih.gov.

Enriching Life


Did you know?

• 4kg of weight is removed every 4 hours during dialysis

• Cost for a dialysis treatment is RM200-300 per treatment

• Approximately 10% of the world population are having chronic kidney disease, and counting!

Dialysis : From the sharp end of the needle

Having a

bad day and

thinking of

giving up?

Think again.

Have you ever thought about patients who have to undergo dialysis for the rest of their lives?

Dialysis patients are all too familiar with the routine of their treatments: Go to the clinic, get weighed, have their temperature and blood pressure taken, get stuck with needles, have tubes connected from their access to the dialyzer and then sit in the chair for 4 hours. Again, imagine going through all that same routine for 3 days a week!

Puan Siti Hawa, aged 65 from Sentul is one of the very few patients treated at Haemodialysis Unit, PUSRAWI Jln Ipoh. She quoted, “I have been undergoing my dialysis treatment here for almost 3 years now. At first, it was hard to accept the fact that I have to be on dialysis for the rest of my life but somehow I found the strength and courage to continue with the treatment. My family especially my children have been very supportive.”

Pharmaniaga Berhad Commercial Director, Encik Jamaludin Elis stated, “It has always been Pharmaniaga’s mission to offer high-end medical equipments at an affordable price to the regional healthcare industry. Our partnership with Bellco has been significant to contribute towards this mission, reaching out to all those patients undergoing dialysis treatment. Bellco has been very strong globally with its expertise in the haemodialysis segment. As a proof, the very first Bicarbonate dialysis, first system for automatic preparation introduced by Bellco in 1972 is still the standard treatment for 100% patient until today.”

Info: Pharmaniaga Marketing is the distributor for Bellco S.r.l., a manufacturer for Formula haemodialysis machine based in Mirandola, Italy. Bellco has been in the manufacturing business for Haemodialysis since 1972 with plants in Italy and France, branches in Belgium, Canada, France and Spain.

Currently Pharmaniaga has successfully installed 16 units of the machines in Pusat Dialisis My ANGKASA Temerloh and Penang, and 2 units in Sayang Dialysis Centre.

Learn how to prevent kidney failure:-1. Control your blood pressure at all costs! 2. If you are a diabetic, properly control your blood sugar levels.3. Drink plenty of water. At least 8 glasses each day.4. Maintain healthy eating habits, exercise regularly and get enough sleep.5. If you are at a risk of diabetes due to family history or lifestyle, go for a medical

checkup. Early detection can make a LOT of difference! 6. If you are a smoker, quit smoking!

Volume 3,

Words by W

an M

oh

d Fah

imi W

an H

amad

& Syed

Hairo

l An

uar b

in Said

Ed

in

Pharmaniaga Commercial Division’s Syed Hairol (left) and Wan Fahimi (2nd from left) with Pn. Siti Hawa

and PUSRAWI staff nurse.


Info Sihat

Sulam diet

anda dengan

ulam

Ulam-ulaman merupakan

satu hidangan pembuka

selera yang tidak

asing lagi bagi

masyarakat melayu.

Walaupun sesetengah

daripadanya berbau

dan pahit, ianya

masih digemari ramai

termasuklah masyarakat

bukan melayu pada hari

ini. Selain mampu

menaikkan selera,

terdapat juga ulam-

ulaman yang digunakan

untuk menaikkan rasa

sesetengah jenis

hidangan makanan.


Ulam juga dikatakan mempunyai berbagai-bagai khasiat tersembunyi yang mampu memberi kesan positif kepada tahap kesihatan individu yang mengamalkannya. Ini adalah kerana ia dimakan secara mentah atau

dimasak secara celuran sahaja, justeru tidak menjejaskan mineral dan vitamin yang terkandung didalamnya. Antara ulam-ulaman yang mudah didapati dan sering menjadi pilihan untuk dihidangkan bersama juadah utama ialah ulam pegaga, kangkung, jering, petai, timun dan pucuk gajus.

Ulam pegaga atau nama saintifiknya Cantella asiatic merupakan jenis ulam paling digemari ramai. Habitatnya yang tumbuh melata di kawasan sekeliling rumah membuatkan ianya mudah diperolehi. Ulam ini dikatakan kaya dengan vitamin A , C, serat serta zat besi yang tinggi. Pegaga juga merupakan satu-satunya ulam yang diperakui oleh Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO) sebagai herba yang menjana kecerdasan minda di kalangan kanak-kanak disamping melancarkan perjalanan darah dan meningkatkan kesihatan kulit. Selain dari itu, air perahan pegaga dikatakan mampu menyejukkan badan bagi meredakan demam. Kebiasaannya, pegaga dijadikan makanan ruji bagi wanita yang baru lepas bersalin kerana ia boleh mempercepatkan proses penyembuhan luka.

Kangkung atau secara saintifiknya dikenali sebagai Ipomoea spp juga merupakan satu lagi jenis sayuran ulam yang tidak asing bagi masyarakat di negara kita. Sama seperti pegaga, kangkung juga mudah didapati kerana habitatnya yang tumbuh di kawasan berhampiran dengan sumber air. Ulam ini dikatakan dapat membantu mengurangkan kesakitan penyakit buasir dan sakit kepala. Ia juga mampu untuk menyubur dan melebatkan rambut.

Satu lagi jenis ulam yang sangat digemari ramai ialah petai. Secara saintifiknya, petai dikenali sebagai Leucaena leucocephala. Walaupun baunya agak kuat dan kurang menyenangkan bagi sesetengah orang, ianya tetap menjadi kegemaran ramai. Petai boleh dimakan secara mentah ataupun dimasak

bersama sambal tumis. Ulam ini dikatakan baik untuk membantu mengawal penyakit kencing manis dan tekanan darah tinggi.

Timun atau secara saintifiknya lebih dikenali sebagai Cucumis sativus juga merupakan sejenis ulam yang mampu membawa kebaikan dari segi kesihatan. Amalan memakan timun dikatakan mampu mengatasi masalah sakit tekak, gatal kerongkong dan batuk. Timun juga banyak digunakan dalam rawatan tradisional Cina sebagai makanan kesihatan bagi menyingkirkan toksik dari badan. Selain dari itu, terdapat juga petua yang menyarankan pengambilan jus timun sebanyak dua gelas sehari bagi mereka yang ingin menurunkan berat badan. Selain daripada faedah kepada kesihatan dalaman, timun juga sering digunakan sebagai bahan asas produk kecantikan.

Pucuk gajus dengan nama saintifiknya Anacardium occidentale merupakan jenis ulam yang agak jarang ditemui. Namun begitu, kelebihannya dari segi kesihatan telah dibuktikan melalui beberapa kajian yang dijalankan. Sebagai contoh, para penyelidik dari Institut penyelidikan Hutan Malaysia (FRIM) telah membuktikan bahawa pucuk gajus mempunyai bahan antikoksida yang tinggi dan mampu mengurangkan risiko penyakit kronik. Kajian yang dilakukan oleh Institut Biosains dari Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) pula mendapati bahawa puck gajus membantu dalam melambatkan kesan penuaan.

Selain daripada ulam-ulaman yang dinyatakan di atas, terdapat berbagai-bagai jenis lagi ulam yang terdapat di negara kita. Sebagai contoh; ulam raja, pucuk silom, jantung pisang, pucuk ubi, pucuk paku, kacang botol dan lain-lain lagi. Selain dari mampu membangkitkan selera, ianya juga kaya dengan khasiat dan kelebihannya yang tersendiri.

Enriching Life


Lebih 50 anak-anak kakitangan Pharmaniaga telah menerima saguhati bagi meraikan pencapaian mereka di dalam peperiksaan PSRA, UPSR, PMR dan juga SPM tahun lepas. Penganugerahan saguhati berbentuk wang tunai tersebut adalah suatu penghargaan syarikat buat kakitangannya. Majlis Anugerah Pencapaian Cemerlang Bagi Anak-anak Kakitangan Pharmaniaga yang disempurnakan oleh Pengarah Urusan Pharmaniaga, Dato’ Farshila Emran itu telah diadakan pada 26 Mei 2012 di Ibu Pejabat Bukit Raja, Shah Alam.

Bagi memeriahkan majlis, turut diadakan adalah penyampaian hadiah kepada pemenang cabutan bertuah yang berlangsung sewaktu Majlis Makan Malam Pharmaniaga pada bulan Mac lepas. Sebanyak 2 buah kereta Proton Saga FLX dan 14 buah motosikal Honda EX5 telah diserahkan. Acara yang menceriakan pada pagi Sabtu itu diakhiri dengan pelbagai jamuan termasuk nasi briyani, soto, cendol dan juga kambing golek.

Anak-anak kakitangan dirai

Enriching Life


Sharing it with the shareholders!Our last Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Royale Bintang Damansara on 4 April 2012 was a shimmer. For the first time, Skuad Operasi Sihat (SOS) was there to provide basic health check for the shareholders who attended the meeting.

The AGM which began as early as 8 o’clock in the morning ended at about 12 noon. There were about 520 shareholders turned up for the meeting. Other than the free health screening, shareholders were offered light refreshment and free meal vouchers as tokens of appreciation for their contribution and loyalty to the company.

The meeting went on concordantly as planned. Presentations and FAQ sessions were handled professionally by the appointed directors. All in all, a round decision was successfully achieved and resolved throughout the day.

12 volunteers from SOS Bukit Raja chapter showed up for the health screening. Kudos to their relentless dedication. They departed early in the morning to set up the place so that everything went on according to schedule.

Instead of providing counseling at the end of the check-up, advice and information were shared instantly. This had to be done since time was short and everything had to be settled before the meeting started. Therefore, to optimise the number of participants, more counters for check-ups were opened on that day.

Some of our senior management staff was also spotted taking part in the health check. In total, about 120 people benefitted from the services rendered by the SOS team. m.

Enriching Life


The continuous effort of promoting health awareness by our S.O.S. team was getting more recognition than ever. Invitation for participation seemed endless, with request coming in from institutions and various public and private medical facilities.

Recently, our SOS mission saw collaboration with the UKM Faculty of Allied Health Sciences Kuala Lumpur. The event took place on 11 April 2012 in Kg. Sg. Lang Tengah, Banting.

UKM team was led by Assoc. Prof Dr. Siti Balkis Budin and Assoc Prof Dr. Hidayatulfathi Othman from the department of Biomedical Sciences and Faculty of Allied Health Sciences. On the other hand, our team was led by the project coordinator Ms. Marie Carlos. 12 of our volunteers were

there to assist the students throughout the campaign.

The event was seen as a platform where both team could share their

knowledge and expertise with each other. Among the activities carried out include health talks on cancer, dengue fever, health exhibition, health screening, blood grouping, as well as eye and hearing checks.

The second half of the day was rather different than usual. The team spent their time visiting a few homes of the villagers who were logistically incapable due to their bed ridden condition.

We came, we saw and we served!

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by the project coordinator Ms.there to assist the

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East coast missionIn conjunction with the “Kenali Ubat Anda” campaign launched by Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri (JKN) Kelantan recently, our Skuad Operasi Sihat (SOS) team was there to join them serving the community of Kota Bharu. The event was held on 11 May 2012 in Pusat Kesenian & Kebudayaan Negeri Kelantan.

Officiated by the Ministry of Health Director General (DG), Dato’ Sri Dr. Hasan Abdul Rahman, the full day event was blissful with participation from a few other health organisations. There were so many activities conducted throughout the day including games, quizzes, counseling sessions, Q&A counters, dikir barat and choral speaking performances and many more.

Led by Corporate Communications General Manager Mr. Zuhri Iskandar, our SOS team worked hand-in-hand with the JKN staff as a few nurses were stationed with us to help out in conducting the health check. It was an honour for the team as the DG managed to spend some time to visit our booth. He observed all of our counters starting from the registration up until goodie bag counters.

(A member of Boustead Group)

Respect, Intergrity, Teamwork and Excellence – values that make it RITE for Pharmaniaga to deliver growth that would

define our performance as an industry player. Recipient of “Malaysia’s 100 Leading Graduate Employers Awards 2011”,

Pharmaniaga is dedicated to encouraging responsibility, nurturing leadership and fostering the career growth of its

employees in such diverse positions in pharmacy, pharmaceutical manufacturing, process engineering, supply chain and

warehouse management, sales and marketing as well as other management support services. Learn how to make it RITE

for you. To find out how you can be part of Pharmaniaga, take on new responsibilities and seek new challenges, please

send in your resume via www.pharmaniaga.com/careers.htm

For more info and to apply, log on to www.pharmaniaga.com/careers.htm

Pharmaniaga Berhad (467709-M)

No. 7, Lorong Keluli 1B, Kawasan Perindustrian Bukit Raja Selatan, Seksyen 7, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul EhsanTel : 03 - 3342 9999 Fax : 03 - 3344 5626 www.pharmaniaga.com

ODD-2012-010-CURE


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Medication Usage in

Special Risk Groups

Different individuals may respond in different ways to drug treatment. Taking

the same medication, one individual may experience side effects while another

experiences none. Knowledge and experience of doctors or pharmacists

will help to identify individual with high risk of adverse or side effects; the reason

is that those individual body handles drugs differently, or the drug has an atypical effects. These special group

individuals include infants and children, women who are pregnant and breast

feeding, the elderly, and individuals with chronic medical conditions such as liver

or kidney diseases. Special attention should also be given to those taking

regular multiple medications as many medications can interact with each other.

Basically, variation in the handling of medication by the body and the response

to medications can be affected by many factors such as age, race, adherence,

concurrent disease, concurrent medication, pregnancy, breast feeding,

tolerance and hypersensitivity.


Mohd Makmor-BakrySenior Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy

Faculty of Pharmacy

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Usually, infants and children need of lower dosage of medication than adults because of a relatively lower body weight. Other than this obvious reason, the body composition i.e. fat distribution and amount, and the

state of vital organ function i.e. the liver and the kidney have to be considered in choosing the appropriate dose rather than simply be given as proportioned of an adult dose as if they were small adults. Commonly, dosage calculation should include both age and weight. Although newborn babies often receive very small medication doses, in some cases, older children may require relatively larger doses per body weight than adults.

During pregnancy, great care should be given to protect the fetus. Medication taken by mother can cross the placenta and enter the fetal bloodstream. Several medications, at particular stages of pregnancy, are associated with risk of fetal developmental abnormalities (teratogenic), or post-delivery problems. The first trimester is the most critical period; some medications may affect the development of fetal vital organs such as the heart or kidneys. In severe cases, the defects may result in miscarriage. Intake of inappropriate medications at the second trimester may result in low birth weight baby. Several medications if used at the third trimester may lead to breathing difficulties in the newborn baby and causing premature, delayed or prolong labour. Teratogenic medications include ACE inhibitors, anticancers, most established antiepileptics, vitamin A, tetracycline and antithyroids.

Breast feeding mothers have to be careful when taking medications as significant amount of these medications can be passed into the milk, for example, antibiotics which may sensitize the infant and subsequently prevent their use later in life. Sedative medications may make the baby drowsy and cause feeding problems. Some medications may even reduce the production of breast milk.

Elderly individuals are at higher risk when taking medications. This is partly associated with the physical changes related to ageing and polypharmacy. The elderly individuals may experience impaired liver and kidney functions, and accordingly lower drug metabolism and excretion capacity, respectively. As such, this population easily suffers from adverse drug reaction or side effects secondary to accumulation of medication or medication interactions. The physiological system of the elderly such as the brain and nervous system may also be more sensitive towards medications. For example the usage of benzodiazepines may increase risk of aggression and fall, and the usage of vasodilator for hypertension may result in severe hypotension. Thus, the doses of related medications should be reduced or the drug should be avoided. Conditions such as senile and confusion could also increase the risk of medication errors in the elderly.

Individuals with kidney disease are at greater risk for medication side effects. This can be due to drug accumulation or increased drug concentration as the kidney fail to excrete them and loss of the binding proteins as more free unbound medication is available. Free unbound medication is the form of medication that is active to give the effects. Severe liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis affect the medication metabolism. This will also lead to dangerous accumulation of medications. Several medications have to be avoided in both liver and kidney diseases; nevertheless, many medications only require dose adjustment for appropriate therapy.

When medications are prescribed for special population, extra care has to be taken on the selection of appropriate medications, dosage adjustment and monitoring of effects. Similar care should be given with over-the-counter medications. Doctors and pharmacists should possess adequate knowledge related to the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications especially in the special risk groups to enhance the safety of medication usage.

Untuk banyak lagi tips kesihatan, sila layari www.mestiambiltahu.com

Volume 3, 2012

Documents

Transcript of Volume 3, 2012